     |
      
 |
|
|
04.13.01
|
Serengeti Supports Creation of International E-Billing Standard
Proposal Would Also Preserve Widely-Used LEDES 1998B Standard
Serengeti Law today announced that it supports the efforts of the LEDES Oversight Committee and LITIG to create a new international legal e-billing standard. Serengeti Law has proposed the creation of a new standard called LEDES 1998B-I (for international) which accepts modified fields requested by LITIG to facilitate international transactions, without adding new fields to the widely accepted LEDES 1998B standard, thereby ensuring a smooth transition for international firms..
■ more |
12.03.02
|
Tracker Collaborative Legal Platform Gains Wide Acceptance in First Year
Over 1000 In-house Users and 1,400 Law Firms Worldwide Work Together Using New Internet Service
Serengeti Law announced today that, during the first year after the release of Serengeti Tracker, its Internet-based system for managing legal work, it has connected more than 1,000 in-house users with over 1,400 law firms in 16 countries worldwide. Serengeti Tracker permits legal teams to share bills, status reports, budgets, documents, and electronic notes through encrypted Internet connections to virtual files, which are accessible to in-house and outside counsel working together on a case or transaction.
■ more |
12.16.02
|
Serengeti Law Releases Version 5.2 of Serengeti Tracker
New Release Provides Contract Management, Electronic Foreign Currency Bill Processing, and Practice Group Organization
Serengeti Law announced today the release of version 5.2 of its popular Serengeti Tracker service for online collaboration between law departments and their outside counsel. During its first year, Serengeti Tracker has connected more than 1,000 in-house users with over 1,400 law firms in sixteen countries using its online collaborative platform, which provides shared virtual files, electronic bill review, budget management, and on-demand management reports.
■ more |
05.12.03
|
Serengeti Tracker Version 5.3 Offers New Features for Large Law Departments
Serengeti Tracker 6.6 Delivers New Features to both In-house and Outside Counsel
Serengeti Law announced today the release of version 5.3 of Serengeti Tracker, the legal profession’s premier Web-based matter management system. This release provides new features specifically for large corporate law departments, as well as enhancements for law firms submitting electronic bills to corporate clients.
■ more |
03.25.03
|
Serengeti Helps Lucent Technologies
Connect with Law Firms Worldwide
Because of System's Unique Design, Implementation and Training Took
Less than Three Months
Serengeti Law today announced the completion of the implementation
of the Serengeti Tracker system, a secure Web-based system, to
connect Lucent’s Law Department with its law firms worldwide.
Because of the system’s unique design, it took less than three
months to train and connect more than 120 Lucent users in some 37
offices, with their law firms located throughout the US and more
than 50 countries.
■ more |
12.01.03
|
Serengeti Creates First Global “Many-to-Many” Legal Network
Serengeti Tracker 6.0 Enables Corporate Legal Departments to Select from Online Directory of Over 4,000 E-Billing Enabled Law Firms Worldwide
Serengeti Law today announced the release of Serengeti Tracker 6.0 and the Serengeti Tracker Worldwide Directory of Firms. With these enhancements, Serengeti Tracker becomes the first electronic invoicing and matter management system in which in-house counsel can search across all lawyers on the system by jurisdiction and areas of expertise. Currently, there are more than 4,000 law firms in over 100 countries using Serengeti Tracker, including 98% of the AmLaw 100 and 97% of the AmLaw Global 100.
■ more |
12.03.03 |
Tracker
Facilitates Legal Work Management for FMC Technologies
Fast Implementation Leads to Savings Managing Work with Law Firms
Worldwide
Serengeti Law announced today that FMC Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:FTI)
has implemented the Serengeti Tracker management system to handle
its legal work worldwide. FMC Technologies is a global leader in
providing mission-critical technology solutions for the energy, food
processing, and air transportation industries.
■ more |
04.05.04
|
Serengeti
Enhances E-Billing/Matter Management for 12,000 Counsel
Worldwide
Tracker 6.1 Facilitates Collaboration between In-house and
Outside Counsel
Serengeti Law today announced the release of Serengeti Tracker
6.1, which adds more than fifty enhancements to the legal
profession’s leading electronic billing and matter management
system. In-house counsel can now analyze spending, results and
performance; law firms can post multiple e-bills with a single
click; and all users can improve efficiency with new
collaborative features. This release is immediately available
without charge to the more than 4,000 corporations and law firms
who are currently working together on Serengeti’s Web-based
platform in over 100 countries.
■ more |
02.07.05
|
Stanford
University Law Department Implements Serengeti Tracker
Serengeti Tracker connects Stanford’s legal
team with its internal clients and its law firms in a shared
online system that efficiently tracks spending, activities, and
results. As part of the implementation, Serengeti converted
Stanford’s data from LAWTRAC Online, the system that Stanford
had previously used to manage its legal work.
■ more |
10.31.05 |
Serengeti
Enhances Top-Rated System For Matter Management and e-Billing
Serengeti Tracker 7.0 Released to Over 30,000 Legal Professionals
Worldwide
Serengeti Law today announced the release of Serengeti Tracker
7.0, which adds more than fifty new enhancements to its Web-based
electronic billing and matter management system. The features in this
release are available for immediate use without additional charge for
the more than 30,000 in-house and outside counsel in over 125 countries
who currently work together on Tracker.
■ more |
05.16.05 |
Serengeti
Enhances E-Billing/Matter Management for Over 27,000 Counsel
Serengeti Tracker 6.6 Delivers New Features to both In-house and
Outside Counsel
Serengeti Law today announced the release of Serengeti Tracker
6.6, which adds more than thirty new enhancements to its Web-based electronic
billing and matter management system. The features in this release are available
for immediate use without additional charge for the more than 27,000 in-house
and outside counsel in 125 countries who are working together on Serengeti
Tracker.
■ more |
03.30.05 |
Serengeti moderates seminar on electronic Invoicing
Association of Corporate Counsel makes law department panel
discussion/Q&A available online
SPEAKERS
Moderator: Rob Thomas, Vice President, Serengeti Law
Speaker: Lynn Molfetta, Global Legal Administrator, American
Express
Speaker: Geneva Gilbertson, Law Department Administrator,
Sierra Health
Speaker: James Sheets, Vice President and Corporate Counsel,
Resun Leasing
DESCRIPTION
Should your law department process legal bills online? From the
world’s largest legal departments to those with a single
attorney, companies are using electronic billing to save time
and control their spending. This seminar is a primer on:
- How electronic billing works
- Whether your law department should consider
it
- Due diligence when selecting a system
- Managing challenges, including law firm
concerns
- Optimizing your law department’s use of the
technology
The panel of in-house counsel and administrators
from small, medium, and large law departments will share their
insights from using electronic billing systems.
■ Click here to download the webcast |
02.15.05
|
Serengeti
Converts Tracker to Microsoft .NET Framework
Tracker 6.5 enhances system performance and scalability
Serengeti Law today announced the release of
Serengeti Tracker 6.5, which includes its Microsoft .NET
conversion. Although this release does not affect any specific
user features, the changes to the Tracker platform strengthen
Serengeti’s leadership in performance, security, and scalability
for web-based matter management and e-billing.
■ more |
03.19.06
|
Serengeti
Announces New Pricing for Leading Matter Management/Electronic Billing
System for Law Departments
Economies of Scale Mean Lower
Costs for Corporate Law Departments; Service Remains Free for Firms
Serengeti Law today announced new pricing for its widely-used
legal matter management and electronic billing system for corporate law
departments. The new pricing includes volume and other discounts for
both new customers and current customers who renew their contracts.
These changes are the result of efficiencies as the number of users has
grown to more than 35,000 in 125 countries.
■ more |
05.01.06
|
Serengeti
Enhances Top-Rated System for Matter Management and E- Billing
Serengeti Tracker 7.1 Released for Over 35,000 Legal Professionals Worldwide
Serengeti Law today announced the release of major new features
for Serengeti Tracker, the highest rated and most widely used matter management
and e-billing system according to recent surveys of in-house counsel. Tracker
version 7.1 is immediately available to the more than 35,000 in-house and
outside counsel in over 125 countries who work together on the system.
■ more |
09.14.06
|
CT and Serengeti Announce Integration Between Service of Process and Matter Management Systems
Enables CT’s Service of Process Information to Connect Directly with Serengeti’s System, Saving Time and Increasing Efficiency
CT and Serengeti today announced the successful integration of
CT’s service of process system with Serengeti’s matter management system for
greater automation, easier collaboration and more efficiency in responding to
and managing litigation. Using CT’s Universal Service of Process Connector, CT
customers can automatically pull service of process details directly from their
CTAdvantage.com registered agent accounts into Serengeti’s Service of Process
Matter Management Module. Serengeti’s new module allows companies to
automatically route the data to existing matters or efficiently create new
matters, and then track response deadlines. ■ more |
10.23.06
|
Compliance Issues Are Top Concern of In-house Counsel, Outside Firms Held to Higher Standards
ACC and Serengeti Release Sixth Annual Managing Outside Counsel Survey
For the second year in a row, outside counsel named “keeping
track of company activities that might have legal implications” as their top
concern (cited by 86 % of respondents), pushing past the previous top concern of
“controlling outside legal costs.” These and other significant developments in
the relationships between in-house and outside counsel are analyzed in the 2006
“ACC/Serengeti Managing Outside Counsel Survey Report,” a collaboration between
the Association of Corporate Counsel (ACC) and Serengeti Law. ■ more |
02.28.07
|
Serengeti
Invited to Present at International Legal Technology Association, Law Department
Symposium
Panel Discussion focused on Optimizing Legal Technology used at the Legal
Department
Serengeti today announced that it will be speaking at the Law
Department Symposium hosted by the International Legal Technology Association in
New York City on March 2, 2007. Greg Shriber of Serengeti will provide the
perspective of a leading matter management vendor on a panel that will address
the topic, "Managing Matter Management." ■ more |
05.10.07
|
CSC®
and Serengeti® Announce XML Integration Between CSC’s Service of Process and
Serengeti’s Matter Management Systems
Corporation Service Company ® (CSC) and Serengeti today
announced the successful integration of CSC's service of process (“SOP”) with
Serengeti's matter management system, enabling information and documents from
CSC® to be delivered electronically into Serengeti's online system. This integration enables
corporate legal departments to reap the benefits of immediate delivery of
litigation documents and greater efficiency in meeting response deadlines.
■ more |
10.05.07
|
Serengeti Tracker Surpasses 50,000 Law Firm Users Worldwide
Largest Online Platform for Legal Profession Accelerates International Growth
Serengeti Law today announced that its online matter management
and electronic billing system for the legal profession has added its 50,000th
law firm user. Together with the more than 12,000 corporate law department users
also on Serengeti, the system’s total user count now exceeds 62,000 legal
professionals in more than 125 countries.
■ more |
10.15.07
|
Serengeti Doubles Scope of Legal Electronic Billing Technology By Capturing Unbilled Law Firm Work
New Workflows Enable In-house Law Departments to Meet Regulatory Requirements for Accurate Financial Statements
Serengeti Law today announced the release of Serengeti Tracker
8.0, which includes groundbreaking new functionality for the most widely used
and highest-rated e-billing and matter management system. This release includes
a new module for collecting unbilled time and expenses directly from law firms,
which is required for company accrual-based financial statements. Additional
enhancements improve law department fiscal year budgeting and reforecasting, and
streamline law firm invoice submission.
■ more |
10.29.07
|
IN-HOUSE COUNSEL INCREASINGLY HOLD OUTSIDE COUNSEL MORE ACCOUNTABLE, USING METRICS AND TECHNOLOGY TO TRACK RESULTS
Seventh Annual ACC/Serengeti ‘Managing Outside Counsel Survey’ Reveals In-House Counsel are Setting the Standards and Requiring More of Their Outside Counsel
Gone are the days when in-house counsel send out major projects
to outside counsel, pay vague bills “for services rendered,” and remain
uninvolved while outside counsel determine what is necessary, according to the
results of the 2007 ACC/Serengeti Managing Outside Counsel Survey, a
collaboration between the Association of Corporate Counsel (ACC) and Serengeti
Law, released at ACC’s Annual Meeting, October 29 in Chicago. ■ more |
11.30.07
|
General
Counsel Roundtable Selects Serengeti to Launch its Vendor Preferred Pricing
Program
Members Receive Exclusive Discounts on Leading Matter Management/E-Billing
System
Serengeti Law announces it has become the first vendor in the
General Counsel Roundtable’s (GCR) Vendor Preferred Pricing Program. Under this
new program, GCR members will receive exclusive discounts on services for
in-house law departments. The first such service is Serengeti Tracker, the most
widely-used online matter management and e-billing system for the legal
profession, currently connecting more than 65,000 in-house and outside counsel
in 125 countries worldwide. ■ more |
 In-House Counsel Speak Out
12.03.02 | Rob Thomas
In-house counsel are challenged by the competing demands of three
distinct roles: legal practitioner, trusted adviser to business clients
and manager of outside counsel. Effective techniques for managing
outside counsel, are generally learned only through on-the-job training
and from sharing experiences with other in-house counsel.
■ open |
 Cracking the Whip
Companies are putting a leash on those sky-high legal bills.
Here's how
four tough customers are taming the law firm beast
02.27.03 | Catherine Aman
Call it a tale of two cultures. On one side: the law firm, founded on
the billable hour and the practice of passing expenses along to the
client. On the other: businesses, pressured by the lousy economy and
scrutinizing every expense.■
open |
 OUTSIDE LEGAL COSTS STILL GROW
But Survey Says Fewer Law
Firms Are Getting More of the Money
11.21.03 | Mark HansenDespite a
slowing economy and attempts to reduce spending on outside
counsel, corporate legal spending continues to rise, both in
absolute terms and relative to company revenues, according to a
new survey of corporate law departments. ■
open |
 Matter Management 101
07.01.05 |
Ronald F. Pol
Do you deal with a large number of
transactions? Do they involve a wide
range of issues and lots of different
interests?
Are you part of a large legal team,
with multiple interactions and related
responsibilities? Or are you a member
of a small team, managing the legal
issues on seemingly countless transactions
across a large organization?
Do you use an effective matter management
system?
If you answered no only to the last
question, I would never suggest that
you might be dicing with disaster, nor
that it’s great that you have an understanding
insurer. Truly, your juggling
talents may be extraordinary. Or you
might be superhuman, really.
■ open |
 E-BILLING: FRIEND OR FOE?
What you should know about the newest trend in legal
billing
09.01.05 | Brett Burney
Just as e-mail has become an electronic replacement for a
pen and paper note, electronic billing, the paperless automation
of sending the bill to a client, is becoming an alternative for
generating a detailed paper invoice. Most of the time, however,
no real bill actually is sent. E-billing is more of a process
for sharing data between a law firm and a client. If your firm
is not submitting electronic bills, chances are you are using
some kind of software to generate bills before printing them out
on paper and snail mailing them to the client — an extra and
unnecessary step.
■ open |
 PRESIDENT'S CORNER
Serengeti Tracker 7.0
12.01.05
Serengeti Law, based in Bellevue, Wash., reports that the
latest version of its web-based electronic billing and matter
management system adds more than 50 enhancements. Tracker 7.0 helps general counsel and other users track
different types of data from multiple sources, says president
Donald Murray.
■ open |
 CHOOSING AN E-BILLING SYSTEM
Measure Twice, Cut Once
12.02.05
| Rob Thomas
Choosing electronic billing and matter management systems
are among the most important technology decisions that a law
department can make, with significant potential consequences—
both positive and negative. The old carpenters’ adage, “measure
twice, cut once,” also applies to taking the time to conduct
careful due diligence in this area. In other words, it’s better
to ask the hard questions now than to have to answer them later
when things aren’t going well.
■ open |
 Compliance, Not Legal Fees, GCs’ Chief Concern
10.30.06
| Martin Daks
General counsel are most anxious about compliance matters, a worry
that is surpassing their concern about outside counsel costs, according
to a new study.
The study, released last Monday, shows that 86 percent
of 169 companies surveyed in 2005 say their main concern is “keeping
track of company activities that might have legal implications.”
Compliance was the top concern in the 2004 survey as well, cited by 80
percent of respondents the same year the Sarbanes-Oxley Act was enacted.
For the previous four years, the chief worry had been legal costs. But
that fell to No. 2, cited by 68.7 percent in 2005 and 75.7 percent in
2004.
■ open |
 ANOTHER REASON FOR
BETTER LEGAL MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS
Now It's a Compliance Issue
11.01.06
| Rob Thomas
The main challenge for most law departments is that they must base
their reports on information that comes from the law firms that handle
their legal work. Law departments must regularly poll their law firms
for legal spending information, as well as information regarding
significant changes in the company’s legal exposure for pending and
threatened claims.
Getting their law firms to provide this information reliably and
promptly is often a major challenge for in-house counsel, who may have
to waste significant time tracking which firms have responded and which
have not and then follow up, sometimes repeatedly, with information
requests. The result is that it’s often impossible for law departments
to maintain up-to-date and accurate reports.
■ open |
Top ten Methods to
Manage Outside Counsel
12.01.06
| Rob Thomas
The successful management of the relationship with outside counsel
often involves a delicate balance between cooperation and oversight.
Outside counsel generally offer special expertise, an independent
perspective, and sheer numbers to address challenging problems. In-house
counsel contribute team coordination, experience, and a thorough
understanding of the needs of the corporate client. How can in-house
counsel ensure that they are effectively managing outside counsel? The
following recommended policies (which address criticisms raised in the
Audit Report) are a good start.
■ open |
 After the Case, Analyze the Results
Tracking outcomes can help companies choose the right law firm and save money on bills.
12.18.06
| Rob Thomas
A primary duty of most in-house counsel is managing the work that is performed by outside counsel. Much attention is devoted to controlling the fees and expenses in legal bills. Electronic billing systems have been widely adopted by in-house counsel to monitor spending, track budgets, and enforce client billing guidelines.
When major projects are completed, however, in-house counsel often miss even greater opportunities for savings. They don’t take the time to analyze the outcome, including settlements, awards, and other amounts paid or received. And yet those numbers often turn out to be much larger than legal fees.
■ open |
 |
|
